While our developers have been digging in deep to craft the content you'll be seeing beyond the parting of the mists, those of us on supporting teams have been plotting a course to respectably usher in this new age of Warcraft with our community.

The Live Stream

To help kick off this journey, the fantastic people at Machinima.com will be live streaming the North American launch party from Irvine, where we'll be joining players to celebrate the arrival of the expansion. The live stream begins at 9 p.m. PDT, so mark your calendars and watch it live here. You can even participate with us on Twitter by following @Warcraft and @Machinima_com. We'll be calling out for the Horde and Alliance among you, and Blizzard’s Chief Storyteller Chris Metzen will be fielding some of your questions live on-stage!

Live Events

If you're in Southern California that evening, get down to the Irvine Spectrum Center and join us for the launch festivities, hosted in partnership with GameStop. We have exciting plans in store for you as we count down the final hours to launch. Here’s some of the stuff we have planned.

Blizzard team members will share their thoughts on this World of Warcraft milestone.

Gamer/actress Felicia Day will make a special guest appearance with an exclusive look at the upcoming sixth season of The Guild.

Plenty of loot giveaways!

We also have a special in-game event planned for bloodthirsty viewers -- a Challenge Mode duel between a team of skilled Blizzard employees and elite Blood Legion guild members! The fastest team wins, and we'll have Blizzard eSports' Rob Simpson shoutcasting with World of Warcraft lead encounter designer Ion Hazzikostas providing design commentary.

How do you have the most fun at a Blizzard celebration event? By showing up in costume, of course! We encourage event attendees to dress up in their best Warcraft-inspired attire. In fact, you could be strutting down the stage in front of the Irvine crowd and Machinima.com audience! When you arrive, please visit the information desk on-site for more details.

Your Autograph, Please

Box signings begin at midnight PDT on September 25. Both the standard edition and Collector’s Edition will be available for purchase at the launch event -- though quantities are limited and will be available on a first come, first-served basis, so be sure to arrive early to secure your copy. You’ll be able to complete your purchase on the evening of September 24 and then trade in your receipt for a copy of the game at midnight on September 25.

Be sure to keep tabs on our official launch page and check back often, as we’ll be adding more details regarding the night’s festivities and purchasing information in the days leading up to the event.

On a personal note, many of us on the community team will be there and we’re guaranteeing "the awesome." We look forward to chatting with those of you attending, as well as the folks following @Warcraft on Twitter. It's nearly upon us, people!